Phase Seven – Expect the Unexpected

The shopping went from enjoyable to the less enjoyable. There was only one single explanation for that. The exotic clothing that Alice had bought for me, claiming that she had enough exotic clothing for the next couple of years. When I rejected to even having these kind of clothes, she gave me that puppy dog look that I couldn't resist. Those big twinkling eyes. Those trembling lips. It took me a lot to not jump on her and smother her in kisses. I had to agree to let her buy them clothes for me, since I've already being forced to try them on, as much as my embarrassment level would go. Now as I wasn't pay any attention on the road or the trees that were going pass us like a blur, my eyes were focusing on Alice's soft, gentle features. She hadn't spoken for all the rest of the trip home, and I had saw the same look returning to her when she had her vision. She didn't tell me about the vision this time, only giving an excuse that it was a little bit too blurry to comprehend. If that was the case, the Renesmee might be in that vision. I wondered if everything was going to be alright.

Soon the car came to a stop in front of the porch, and I could smell the scent of the others inside the house, and the scent of our husbands. It was strange, I thought they wouldn't be home for another several days or so. I turned to look at Alice, the same look of confusion was on her face as well. I knew that Edward would be able to see what Alice and I had shared today, and the thought of shielding her mind from him was a bit too risky. I let out a soft sigh before I was out of the car in a flash. Alice soon was beside me, and we came into the door.

There were two things that happened. One, Renesmee bolted up to me and flung her arms around me, hugging me tightly like I was going to vanish. Two, both Edward and Jasper let out a low growl and I could pick out that they were disappointed, in what I wasn't sure. I turned to look at Alice, her eyes were on the wooden floor as if she had grown interested in it for the first time. I turned back at Edward, his golden eyes that had dazzled me a couple years back were hard on me. Did he find out what was going on between me and Alice? Or was there something else?

"Come with me." Edward's voice was barely a whisper, and I knew that if I was a human I wouldn't be able to hear from the distance between him and I. I looked down at Renesmee, kissed her lightly before inhaling her scent, then released her after telling her to go to Rosalie. She nodded and went to Rosalie immediately, and she wrapped her arms around my little girl, her eyes were on me. Was that a sympathy look?

I shook my head lightly then looked over to Edward, but he was gone. I could still smell him though, his scent was still fresh. The scent led me up to his old room, and I quickly walked up the stairs and entered the room. He was standing at the window, staring out at the vast woods. His fists were clenched and I could hear his knuckles popping. His posture was still, and hard, and it made me flinch. Edward had never been mad at me. No, he was always mad at somebody else but me. It made me wonder what had I done wrong to make him this made. Perhaps it was the image of me and Alice sharing a kiss, and confessing our love to each other. But, wouldn't he be more happy about my decision? It wasn't like I decided to stop loving him, I still do, just not as the world he wanted me to.

"Bella..." His voice came out as a shaky breath. And I know that he was trying to control his anger in order to not yell at me.

"Yes, Edward?" My voice was low, and I was preparing for him to start yelling at me.

"Do you love me?" That was unexpected. I did marry him, didn't I? I did have a child with him, didn't I? I did waited for him to come back to me, even though he had left me broken beyond repair, didn't I? Why did he have to ask such a question that was so obvious to him?

"Yes, I do love you Edward." There was no hesitation in my tone, except for the confusion. He must have heard it, because he turned around and looked at me. His eyes were no longer hard. It held pain, too much pain that it made me grimace at the sight. "Edward, what –" Before I could form out a question, I was cut short by his hand holding up towards me, asking me silently to let him speak.

"Let me talk." He said, and I nodded at him. He sighed, a rather heavy one, before he brought his hand up and rubbed his temple. "Lately you've been acting very strange around me, and not just around me, but around Alice as well. I thought that you and Alice were in some kind of fight, but whenever I read into her mind, all I can hear was her thinking about what she would buy for Renesmee or where she would go for a shopping spree. I thought it was strange, because she had never once thought of you when it all started back several months ago. But I noticed whenever you were around Alice, you'd act all fidgety and if you could blush, I know that your cheeks would have deepened. Alice was the same, except for the blushing and fidgety part. But I can hear her thoughts, she was always deciding on whether she should give you a hug, or give you a sisterly kiss on a cheek, or link arms with you and pull you towards the woods to hunt." He paused, and sighed that looked like he was taking a deep breath, even though vampires didn't really need to oxygen to survive.

"There was Jasper too, I know that he wouldn't feel confused, or nervous but whenever he and I were around you two, I could feel it radiating off of him. I know that we weren't supposed to come back today, but Jasper had been worrying about you two and so have I even though I knew that he knows more than I would have. I was right, because the moment that Alice appeared in my range of hearing, I could see everything that had happened today. I truly have never thought that you would fall for Alice, but I guess it was my fault for leaving you, and letting Alice picked up the pieces that I've left behind. But the most shocking part would be Alice !" Oh yes, he was mad now. And I could see this is where his voice was starting to raise. "Alice has fallen for you ! It was like she has tossed Jasper aside and decides to love you instead !"

"Hey ! That's not true ! She still loves him !" And this was the part where I get mad, because I knew that Alice would never want to leave Jasper. This wasn't any easier to us than he thought he was making this sound. I know that Edward was selfless, but this was downright ridiculous.

"But she loves you more than him !" He snarled, but I didn't flinch. I was getting angrier by the second. He had no right to decide who was going to break up, and who was going to be together. He wasn't a God.

"Edward, for Christ's sake she is not going to leave him, just like I'm not going to leave you ! This is not as easier for me or her, like you're making it sounds as !"

He let out a growl. There we go, I thought he was going to lunge and me and attack me and what's not. But his growl turned up in volume, and I know he was going to lose it in any minute now. In that moment, the rest of the house was up, except for Rosalie and Renesmee and I thanked Rosalie silently for not letting my poor daughter seeing this horrible sight of her father. I didn't know that my body was shaking in fury, that my face was so straight and hard, and the only thing that I could see was Edward growling at me, until I felt arms wrapped around me, and the familiar scent engulfed me, that my body started to relax. I could feel Jasper's ability working on me as well, and when I looked back at Edward I could see him calming down. But I know that Jasper's ability was nothing like Alice's scent.

"Edward, maybe we should talk about this when Renesmee is asleep." I murmured, and his jaw clenched. "Please, Edward. For her, for our daughter." My pleading tone did a great deal to him, because I saw his jaw relaxed, but I knew that the two words 'Our Daughter' did more of the work than my tone could ever would right now.

I let out a sigh when he nodded, without uttering a word. "Thank you." With that, I quickly turned and ran down the stairs. I saw Renesmee was being cradled in Rosalie's arms, and she was in a light slumber. I smiled too myself, before I went over and placed a light kiss on her forehead, murmuring the soft three words 'I Love You', before I silently sprinted out the door. I needed time to calm myself down, just like Edward would be needing his time. We both needed time, until we would have to face each other and start yelling at each other again. This was the first fight that we had in all of our time in marriage.